Sen. Al Franken announced Thursday he’ll resign to end the turmoil over allegations that he groped or tried to forcibly kiss several women after more than half of his Democratic colleagues demanded he step down to make clear that mistreatment of women is unacceptable.
Franken, a leader of his party’s liberal wing who was seen as a potential 2020 presidential candidate, is the latest man in a high-profile position to be brought down amid a shift in U.S. culture that increasingly treats sexual misconduct with zero tolerance, Bloomberg reports.
"I am announcing that in the coming weeks I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate," said Franken, 66, on the Senate floor. He said he can’t be "an effective senator" for Minnesota and deal with an ethics investigation.
The senator referred to sexual misconduct allegations against President Donald Trump that surfaced during his campaign and against Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama, saying "there is some irony" in his departure "while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assaults sits in the Oval Office and a man who has preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party."
Franken said it’s time to listen to women, but still disputed some of the specific allegations against him. He said his willingness to undergo an investigation "gave some people the false impression that I was admitting to doing things that I haven’t done."
